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Hit the Rochester Public Market Saturday morning with Dave. The last time I was there the market was filled with Fall items, this time it was all Christmas! Plus, we got a lot of snow Wednesday night so it really felt like the holidays!

Have you ever heard of a Florida avocado? I hadn’t until I noticed a larger-than-usual avocado at the market. I asked the vendor what it was and she said it was a Florida avocado, that it tasted similar to California avocados (most common), but isn’t good for guacamole.

I bought my Florida Avocado for $1, brought it home and did some research.

So what’s the deal with Florida Avocados, and how do they measure up to the more popular California (Hass) ones?

The Nutrition Diva offers great insight into the two types.
–Calorie count: Hass avocados are more calorie and fat dense, but smaller. The Florida avocado has been branded by the state of Florida as a “light” avocado because it has less of a fat density. The calories in an average Hass avocado are 300 and the calories in an average Florida avocado are 200.
–Recipes: Hass offer a creamier, richer taste for recipes like guacamole whereas Florida avocados are better as an accent in dishes like salads, and the ever-popular Floriday avocado and graprefuit salad.
–Nutrients: In general, both Hass and Florida avocados offer fiber and monosaturated fats, which are claimed to reduce heart and artery disease. The Florida avocado also offers 7g of protein per whole avocado, and the Hass has around 2.7g per whole.

Like I read, the Florida avocado does have a different taste than I’m used to with Hass. I put half an avocado in a salad with Panera’s Asian Sesame salad dressing. I usually get an Asian Sesame Salad from Panera with Hass avocado, so perhaps it wasn’t good for me to taste-test my favorite salad with a new ingredient.

The avocado was good, but had an aftertaste I wasn’t used to. I want to keep experimenting with the fruit to see how I can work it into recipes that call for Hass avocados. I want to try to make guac with it, too!